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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2013 Kia Forte Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
10about this part
Share
5%of 195 total for the year
Median mileage
59,500miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 10 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2013 Kia Forte, 5% of the 195 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 59,500 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I am the original owner of my 2013 Kia Forte ex, the vehicle roughly has 70,000 miles on it. The vehicle has always been properly maintained via oil changes, filters, etc on time with quality name brand fully synthetic oil and filters per the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule which is every 7500 miles. I was driving my vehicle home on a very busy freeway on the east coast. …”

NHTSA complaint #10853461, filed 2016-04, 70,000 miles

“I was entering the freeway, accelerated to match traffic speed, I heard the engine's rpms increase but almost immediately afterwards the car shut down. I was in the middle lane of a very busy interchange and going about 60mph when the car quit. I kept trying to restart the car by putting it in neutral and at the same time steer it towards the shoulder. There were no warning lights. When I heard the engine noise I looked at the dash, all was normal, the d for drive was visible. It happened very quickly. …”

NHTSA complaint #11101299, filed 2018-06, 51,000 miles

“As I was driving down the road headed to the store the vehicle just died right there where I was at so I had to push the brake and move gear shifter to park, turn it off, turn it back on and then it was fine the rest of the way. I just bought this car from auto smart in longview tx on 10/22/2019 and when I got home I started looking up the VIN number to see if I could find any details like a car fax report and I came across this site and found that there are actually recalls on this vehicle that have not been fixed yet. …”

NHTSA complaint #11270936, filed 2019-10, 120,000 miles

“2013 Kia Forte sedan, 2.4l theta ii, my mpi engine approx. 98k miles (dec 18 2020), light ticking was observed while driving as usual. This ticking quickly escalated (dec 21, 2020) to the point of stopping the car and not driving any further. The car was towed to an ase shop to look into the issue (dec 25, 2020). Within a few days (dec 28 - jan 31) it was diagnosed as internal engine damage having metal in the oil and filter. Based on my research, I have found other complaints, forums and related recalls pointing to the fact that this is a common problem. …”

NHTSA complaint #11388752, filed 2021-01, 98,000 miles

“I was driving my car when I noticed a tapping sound as I accelerated from a stop light. I pulled over to check under the hood, but couldn't figure out what was wrong. I check all my fluid levels and everything was perfectly fine. I shut the hood and started it back up. The tapping was still there. I decided to turn back and head home. As I started to accelerate this time the sound grew to a hard pounding noise. Before I could even pull off the road my car completely shut down. I lost all power and my wheel locked up. I tried to start it again, nothing. …”

NHTSA complaint #11301266, filed 2020-01, 61,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2024415%
2023812%
202227%
2021710%
20201621%
20194832%
201886%
2017124%
20161612%
2015176%
2014184%
2013105%
2012114%
20111812%
20102310%

Other parts of the 2013 Kia Forte

Engine
107 complaintsBrakes
37 complaintsElectrical system
25 complaintsAir bags
16 complaintsExterior lighting
14 complaintsOther or unknown
13 complaintsSteering
13 complaintsSeat belts
8 complaintsFuel system
6 complaintsWheels
5 complaintsEngine cooling
3 complaintsSuspension
3 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 Kia Forte

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology